LONG BEACH, Calif. _ The former Boeing facility has been turned into an arena of destruction for the filming of a new season of "BattleBots." After a short hiatus, the series that pits monster machine against mechanical marvels returns with new episodes airing on Discovery and then repeating five days later on the Science Channel.
"BattleBots," initially was broadcast on Comedy Central from 2000-2001 and then brought back by ABC for the 2015-2016 TV season. It continues the same smashing, clashing and trashing format. Two robots compete inside an enclosed environment through a single three-minute showdown. If one team manages to disable the other, they are the winner and move on to the next round. In the rare occasion when neither is disabled, a panel of judges makes the final decision.
Executive producer Tom Gutteridge explains the shift from the competition series airing on the network to finding a pair of cable outlets gives the producers the permanent home they have wanted.
"The trouble with being on ABC was that we could only do six episodes one season and 10 the next," Gutteridge says over the screams of the crowd watching the competition in the adjoining area. "Discovery is perfect for us because we are getting more time."
The clue this was going to be a perfect relationship came when Discovery Science purchased the ABC episodes of "BattleBots" and aired them to great viewing success. The response was so big the cable channel agreed to produce 20 episodes, giving the "BattleBots" team the longer season they wanted.
"The additional episodes have allowed us to change the format so that we can guarantee every episode is going to be exciting. The way we are doing that is when we just had the 10 episodes on ABC, all we could do was one championship from beginning to end," Gutteridge says. "Because we have more episodes, we are putting more fights in every episode.
"It also gives us more time to take more of a look behind the scenes at the teams, the mechanics and the engineering that goes into it. We have gotten rid of the fluff of pure filler we had to put in a network show and distilled it down into a really, really exciting sport."
The robot battles feature a mix of 57 new and familiar robot teams from the United States and around the world who have created killer machines with names like Warrior Dragon, Tantrum, Predator, Minotaur and Kraken. All 20 episodes will be produced at the Boeing facility. Each team has a large area that is covered with tools, spare parts and the remnants of meals eaten between working on the robots.
There is even room outside one of the hanger-size doors for a reinforced glass box the competitors can use to test their robots. If there is a problem and a piece or part goes flying off the robot, it will stay safely behind the walls.
The massive work area is also where the competitors wait to take their turn in the rectangle of robotic reckoning. Andrea Suarez is part of a group of Florida robot builders who after competing against each other has come together to design and build the robot called Witch Doctor. She and her teammates are scheduled to be part of the next battle as soon as all the debris from the previous fight can be cleared.
Suarez says the final design for Witch Doctor was the result of many team meetings. The biggest change this season from past is the elimination of a tiny sidekick robot for Witch Doctor that was able to shoot flames.
"It was really popular with the fans, but this season is all about redemption because we had a really tough loss last time so we just wanted to put everything into the big robot," Suarez says.
Suarez is a longtime veteran of the robot wars having started when she attended an all-girls high school that had a robotics team. She is a biometrical engineer who works on trauma implants when not in the arena.
Standing not far from Suarez is Ray Billings, one of the superstars of the BattleBots world through his success with Tombstone. It took only 53 seconds for Tombstone to vanquish Bombshell in the 2016 tournament championship.
"There is absolutely a target on my back because I'm the guy who won last time," Billings says.
Despite being the reigning champion, Billings and his team made changes to Tombstone in an effort to make the robot even more of a destructive threat. There were no wholesale adjustments but just enough to prepare Tombstone for what Billings knows others have planned for his robot in particular.
Billings, who lives in Central California, got interested in "BattleBots" when the show was on Comedy Central. Tombstone has changed over the years, but the basics have remained the same because he knows that one-third of what it takes to be a contender is having the proper design.
"Then there is another third that is driving skill and then a lot of it is the sheer workload of keeping it going and making the repairs to keep going," Billings says. "Finally, 10 percent of it is luck. No one wants to admit that but it is there."
Keeping viewers up on the action are Chris Rose and Kenny Florian who provide the play-by-play and color commentary, while Jessica Chobot is the sideline reporter. Rounding out the broadcast team is ring announcer Faruq Tauheed.
